A curious religious debate is raging in Egypt. The question is: should you keep your clothes on when having sex? It began when Dr Rashad Khalil, an expert on Islamic law from al-Azhar university in Cairo warned that being completely naked during intercourse invalidates a marriage. His ruling was promptly dismissed by other scholars, including one who argued that "anything that can bring spouses closer to each other" should be permitted. Another religious scholar suggested it was OK for married couples to see each other naked as long as they don't look at the genitals. To avoid problems in that area, he recommended having sex under a blanket. It's not entirely clear whether Dr Khalil has considered the full implications of his edict. Doesn't the prospect of all those virile baton-wielding Egyptian riot policemen (for example) doing it in their boots and black uniforms sound just a little bit kinky? But we'll let that pass.... http://www.guardian.co.uk

A UK consumer watchdog has called for new laws to protect users' rights to use digital music and movies. The National Consumer Council (NCC) said anti-piracy efforts were eroding established rights to digital media. The NCC had little faith that industry self-regulation would adequately protect consumers' rights. It made its comments to a parliamentary inquiry into technologies that limit what people can do with CDs, DVDs and downloaded media. In its submission to the inquiry, the NCC said many consumers were regularly running up against the restrictions record companies and film makers put on their products. The consumer group said people were finding that they could not make compilations for their own use or easily move digital copies between different devices. In its statement to the inquiry it said the digital locks put on content were "constraining the legitimate consumer use of digital content". ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4617176.stm

The law could be changed to allow two prostitutes and a receptionist or maid to work together legally in brothels, the government has confirmed. Currently only lone prostitutes can offer sex from flats or other premises without breaking the law. Launching the new prostitution strategy for England and Wales, minister Fiona Mactaggart said that working in groups would be safer for women. The Home Office plans also include tougher rules for men who buy sex. The strategy also means more kerb-crawlers could lose their driving licences, while prostitutes would get help over drugs and housing. Ministers ditched earlier plans for licensed red-light zones, believing they could send out the wrong message. Ms Mactaggart said such zones only shifted the problem to other areas. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4619098.stm

Israel's President Moshe Katsav said on Tuesday that talks with Hamas might one day be possible if the Palestinian Islamic group disarmed and abandoned its commitment to destroying the Jewish state.Even if there was no chance that Hamas would meet such conditions any time soon, the comments from Israel's ceremonial president appeared to be a sign of shifting attitudes ahead of Palestinian elections. "If Hamas recognizes Israel's right to exist, and ceases terrorism and is elected by the Palestinians to their parliament, under these conditions I think it would be possible to conduct political negotiations with them," Katsav said on Israel's Army Radio....http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1514040

As Washington, now joined by the EU3, presses for punitive international action against Tehran, one of its most difficult tasks will be to win China's support. The first step is to persuade China to agree to support - or not to block - an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) referral of Iran to the UN Security Council. China, like Russia, feels it is in an awkward position. An important development for Beijing will be how Russia decides to react. Initial reports from Washington, soon after news broke that Iran was resuming work, said that Moscow had privately agreed not to veto referral to the Security Council but it is still unclear if that is true. If it were, Beijing could find itself diplomatically isolated. That would only increase the pressure on Beijing to follow Moscow's lead. But Beijing would like to avoid that crisis altogether if it possibly can. Its own focus is firmly on a non-confrontational diplomatic solution to the crisis. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4621182.stm

Federal lawsuits were filed Tuesday seeking to halt President Bush's domestic eavesdropping program, calling it an "illegal and unconstitutional program" of electronic eavesdropping on American citizens. The lawsuits accusing Bush of exceeding his constitutional powers were filed in federal court in New York by the Center for Constitutional Rights and in Detroit by the American Civil Liberties Union. The New York suit, filed on behalf of the center and individuals, names Bush, the head of the National Security Agency, and the heads of the other major security agencies, challenging the NSA's surveillance of persons within the United States without judicial approval or statutory. It asked a judge to stop Bush and government agencies from conducting warrantless surveillance of communications in the United States. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1513993